, native_name_lang = , logo = , logo_size = , logo_caption = , image = Мукачеве.Миколаївський монастир.jpg , image_size = , image_caption = St Nicholas Monastery in Mukachevo , map_type = Ukraine Zakarpattia Oblast#Ukraine , pushpin_relief = 1 , pushpin_label = Saint Nicholas Monastery , image_map = , map_caption = , location =

Mukachevo Mukachevo ( uk, Мукачево, ; hu, Munkács; see name section) is a city in the valley of the Latorica river in Zakarpattia Oblast (province), in Western Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of Mukachevo Raion (district), the city ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

, address = , location_city = , location_country = , coordinates = , former_names = , alternate_names = , etymology = , status = , cancelled = , topped_out = , building_type = , architectural_style = , material = , classification = , altitude = , namesake = , groundbreaking_date = , start_date = , stop_date = , est_completion = , completion_date = , opened_date = , inauguration_date = , closing_date = , demolition_date = , destruction_date = , cost = , ren_cost = , client = , owner =

Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church ( uk, Українська православна церква, Ukrainska pravoslavna tserkva; russian: Украинская православная церковь, Ukrainskaya pravoslavnaya tserkov', UOC), common ...

, affiliation = , height = , architectural = , structural_system = , size = , floor_count = , floor_area = , elevator_count = , grounds_area = , architect = , architecture_firm = , developer = , engineer = , known_for = , website = , embed = , references = , footnotes = , embedded = __NOTOC__ The Saint Nicholas Monastery uk, Миколаївський Мукачівський жіночий монастир (УПЦ МП) is an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

located on Chernecha Hora (''monk's hill'') in

. It belongs to the jurisdiction of

Eparchy of Mukachevo and Uzhhorod Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...

of the

. It is a female monastery, headed by hegumenia Epistimiya Sherban.

History

The exact date of its founding is unknown, though some believe it was founded in the late 11th century.Magocsi, Paul Robert and Ivan Pop. ''Encyclopedia of Rusyn History and Culture''.

University of Toronto Press The University of Toronto Press is a Canadian university press founded in 1901. Although it was founded in 1901, the press did not actually publish any books until 1911. The press originally printed only examination books and the university cale ...

, 2002. pg 333-34 In the 14th century the monastery was under the patronage of Fedir Koriiatovych.''Mukachiv Saint Nicholas's Monastery''.

Encyclopedia of Ukraine The ''Encyclopedia of Ukraine'' ( uk, Енциклопедія українознавства, translit=Entsyklopediia ukrainoznavstva), published from 1984 to 2001, is a fundamental work of Ukrainian Studies. Development The work was creat ...

, vol. 3 (1993). In 1491 it was made the seat of the Eastern Orthodox Eparchy of Mukachevo that had jurisdiction was the whole of Transcarpathia. In 1537, the monastery was burned during war though it was rebuilt soon after with permission of

Emperor Ferdinand I Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabo ...

. After the Union of Uzhhorod in 1646, the monastery joined the Greek Catholic Basilian monastic order. From then on the

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") wh ...

was also the superior general of the order in Transcarpathia. The bishop's residence was transferred to Mukachiv in 1751, but the monastery remained the administrative center for the Basilians. During the years 1798–1804 the Saint Nicholas Church was constructed in a

Classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

style. In 1862 much of it was again destroyed by fire, but rebuilt within three years. The monastery ran a school and library which became important to the cultural and religious life of the region. It also maintained contacts with the

of the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and

eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

Hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

Anatol Kralytsky was a prominent Transcarpathian writer in the 19th century. In the 1920s, the monastery was restructured and reforms were introduced by

Basilian Basilian may refer to a number of groups who are followers of Saint Basil the Great and specifically to: * Basilian monks (founded c. 356), monks who follow the rule of Saint Basil the Great, in modern use refers to monks of Eastern Catholic Chur ...

monks from Galicia. In 1946 the

Soviet regime The political system of the Soviet Union took place in a federal single-party soviet socialist republic framework which was characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), the only party permitted by the Co ...

liquidated the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church (sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's ...

, and the monastery was forced to become Eastern Orthodox. All of the monks refused to convert and were exiled. The collection of over 6,000 rare books and manuscripts and its archives were transferred to local museums and archives. The monastery was transformed into a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglic ...

for Orthodox nuns from other monasteries that were closed by the Soviets.Nathaniel Davis. ''A long walk to church: a contemporary history of Russian Orthodoxy''. Westview Press, 2003. Pg 170 At present there are about seventy Orthodox nuns housed in the monastery.

History

See also

References

Further reading